In Hot Houston Market, Startup Glass Company Eyes Customer Service as Key

Chris Sezonov was frustrated with the level of customer service in Houston’s wholesale glass market. He turned that frustration into an opportunity.

Working on the installation side of the glass business for some seven years gave Sezonov plenty of time to ponder and repeat the mantra, “If I were running a glass wholesale business, here’s how I would treat my customers.” Such reflection started to take concrete form (and hopefully pay off for both him and the installers of Houston) just last month, when he launched Clarity Glass Wholesalers, a full-service glass wholesale provider.

“It was as matter of just being in the position to say, ‘You know what? There’s a need out there in the market. There are other companies out there that aren’t filling that service side,” says Sezonov, the company’s president and owner.

The pledge to improve customer service may sound like a cliché in just about any industry and business but, according to Sezonov, it is definitely an issue in the Houston glass wholesale world. “Having been on the installation side, the quality of the customer service is, frankly, very poor here,” says Sezonov, himself a native Houstonian.

Perhaps part of that is attributable to the strength of the local market. When things are good in any industry, customer service can easily slip to the back seat as companies scramble to fill orders. Even during the recession, Texas proved to be one of the brighter spots in the flagging national economy, and Houston’s construction and glass industries did just fine during that time. Now, according to Sezonov, the market is even hotter, making it a good time to launch a startup.

Thus, Clarity Glass Wholesalers plans to make its name with strong customer service and quality.

The company has hit the ground running order-wise, says Sezonov. As for his longer-term business plan, his latest mantra may be something like, “focus on your market, focus on your product.” For now, he’s content building a solid base of loyal customers and letting word of mouth be his greatest asset. “We’re definitely starting off in a good spot, he says. “We’re not out there looking to be the solution for every single glass company in Houston.”

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